My girls are hot

[smorris2]

It is currently very warm here so when my hens go to lay they get very hot in their nesting boxes. Their boxes are in the coop and they have a window open for air and most of the time the door is open as well. But as I watch them they are panting like crazy and I’m concerned. Is there anything I can do?

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Where is your coop located (full sun, partial shade, etc.) and do you have a run? Is there somewhere the girls can go to get some shade and cool off? Can you ventilate the nest boxes (take the curtains off or pull them back, open up the nest box door, etc.)? Can you spray water on the roof of the coop and nest boxes? What kind of bedding do you have? Are their wings spread, combs pale, excessive panting lasts for how long?

It’s Hades-hot and humid here in Southern Ohio, so I definitely feel your pain! My coop and run get full sun for a couple of hours in the morning, but stay relatively cool as there are plenty of ventilation holes along the roof line, I put feed bags up over the open window that gets all the sun, I have sand in the coop and run, and I make sure to hose down the rooves of both the coop and run during the hottest part of the day. I also hang a tie dyed sheet over the sunny side of the run during the part of the morning where it’s blasting in on them and bring them out a lot of ice for in their water. I filled up a bundt cake pan with water and a handful of mealworms and chicken crack (scratch) and leave that in the freezer overnight. Around noon, I put the ice block and a little water in their large rubber tub in the run so they can peck at it and cool off. They love to drink the icy water as it melts. (Pretty sure they wade in it too!) They also get a frozen watermelon rind with a little fruit left as a special treat! And I’ve got a small patio mister coming later this week. (Yes, I know they’re spoiled rotten, but I do so love to watch my chicken tv!) Just a few ideas that might work for you too.

 

[Happy Henny]

It is currently very warm here so when my hens go to lay they get very hot in their nesting boxes. Their boxes are in the coop and they have a window open for air and most of the time the door is open as well. But as I watch them they are panting like crazy and I’m concerned. Is there anything I can do?

Maybe you could put a sturdy waterer in front of the nesting boxes, but if you do that make sure that the waterer is sturdy so it wont fall over... thats all i can think of at the time..

 

[smorris2]

Their coop and run are mostly in the shade, I haven’t sprayed down the roof but I will try that. I can open the back doors of the nesting boxes but when I’ve done that before their eggs fall out onto the ground. I have a mister system for their run but they are scared of it . I don’t have enough of a ledge to put water in front of the nesting boxes but I will try the frozen water/meal worms. Thank y’all for your input

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Yeah, I put ice in their waterer too. Someone on another blog suggested freezing the waterer. That would really help if you left enough room to add liquid water so they have something to drink immediately.

 

[snow5164]

Every time I see your post “ my girls are hot” I think about my early menapause days when I googled “ my legs are so hot ,
Let’s just say what came up was not what I was looking for

 

[Farmgirl1878]

Every time I see your post “ my girls are hot” I think about my early menapause days when I googled “ my legs are so hot ,
Let’s just say what came up was not what I was looking for

 

[PachecoPeeps]

Their coop and run are mostly in the shade, I haven’t sprayed down the roof but I will try that. I can open the back doors of the nesting boxes but when I’ve done that before their eggs fall out onto the ground. I have a mister system for their run but they are scared of it . I don’t have enough of a ledge to put water in front of the nesting boxes but I will try the frozen water/meal worms. Thank y’all for your input

They will get used to the mister system eventually. Anything new will scare them. I started using a fan in the run this year and the first couple of days they ran from it like it was a dog. Now the will sit in front of it and enjoy the breeze

 

[aart]

I can open the back doors of the nesting boxes but when I’ve done that before their eggs fall out onto the ground.

Can you prop it open just a crack?
Pics of your nests may garner some viable suggestions.

 

[kwhites634]

It is currently very warm here so when my hens go to lay they get very hot in their nesting boxes. Their boxes are in the coop and they have a window open for air and most of the time the door is open as well. But as I watch them they are panting like crazy and I’m concerned. Is there anything I can do?

They'll hold their wings away from the body to cool themselves, but that's not very effective in this heat. I saw one of mine standing in the water bowl the other day, cooling her legs & feet. Make sure they have plenty of shade. If you can let them free range they'll seek out cooler spots. Some folks put ice cubes in the water. Still others freeze milk jugs of water & put them in the water, then re-freeze them & replace them with more jugs. If block ice is available, they'll lean against it. Letting a fan blow across ice in any form will also help, as long as there's a guard over the blades; chickens ain't right bright sometimes.